Portland Under Consideration For A Professional Soccer Team

The announcement of professional hockey returning to Portland was met with enthusiasm, re-joining Portland's already popular professional baseball and basketball teams. So the question is this...can Portland, Maine sustain ANOTHER professional sports team? According to the Telegraph UK, some people think the answer is yes.

Portland is under consideration for a United Soccer League D3 team as part of a major United States expansion coming in the next two years. If Portland was selected to have a franchise, play would begin in 2019. Typically professional sports leagues like to keep their expansion plans under wraps, but the USL has a different plan, gauging interest in having a team in a particular city from social media.

The USL is looking to make soccer "corridors" happen, meaning alleviating any air travel and the expenses and potential delays it causes. Thus, other cities in the Northeast under consideration for USL teams are the usual suspects, including Providence, Albany, Springfield and Worcester. The USL has not made any final decisions but expect to finalize plans and decisions within the next few months.

A fair question for Portlanders is where exactly would this professional team play? Would Hadlock Field serve as a dual-purpose professional stadium? Would another one of Portland's fields, perhaps reserved for high school play at the moment, receive a proper renovation to accommodate the USL team?

Will Portland be home to yet another professional sports franchise? Stay tuned.